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Election Day is Tuesday. Here’s a guide to voting in Texas

Join KSAT for live election coverage at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Election Day guide. (KSAT)

Get more election coverage on KSAT’s Vote 2024 page.

Election Day in the 2024 general election is almost here after 12 days of early voting.

Voters in Bexar County will have more than 300 locations to choose from to cast a ballot on Tuesday.

Bexar County voters can head to ANY polling site from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

If you’re not sure if you’re registered, you can click here to check.

After 12 days of early voting, Bexar County voters cast more than 603,000 ballots by mail or in-person — a turnout so far of nearly 46.6%, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.

Live updates on election night:

KSAT anchors Steve Spriester, Myra Arthur and Stephania Jimenez will host a livestream on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 6:30 p.m. with real-time election results for the presidential election. The livestream will be available on KSAT Plus, KSAT.com and KSAT’s YouTube channel.

Candidates, elected officials, reporters and guests will join the stream in the KSAT newsroom and at watch parties throughout the area. We’ll cover all the key races and more.

Panelists for the livestream will be:

  • Molly Cox, co-founder of Vote210 and consultant
  • Demonte Alexander, a military veteran and a local political consultant
  • Kevin Wolff, former Bexar County Precinct 3 commissioner
  • Jon Taylor, Ph.D., chair for Political Science and Geography Department at UTSA

Where can I find election results?

KSAT will have election results on our homepage and our Vote 2024 page.

You can also get election results from these websites:

Molly Cox, Demonte Alexander, Kevin Wolff, and Jon Taylor will join KSAT's election night livestream coverage. (KSAT 2024)

Voting centers:

Polling locations, which include schools, libraries, churches, city halls and community centers, will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Click here to read a full list of voting centers.

Because some campuses will act as polling locations, several schools have canceled classes on Tuesday.

List of school districts not having classes on Election Day:

  • Northside ISD: Student holiday and staff development day.
  • North East ISD: Student holiday and staff development day.
  • Judson ISD: Student holiday and staff development day.
  • East Central ISD: Staff and student holiday.
  • Southwest ISD: Student holiday and staff development day.
  • IDEA Public Schools: District vacations.

The districts decided to give Tuesday off for students, as there was some concern regarding school safety and elections.

What if I live outside Bexar County?

On Election Day, depending on where you live, you may be able to vote at any polling place in your county, or you may have to vote in your specific precinct.

Atascosa, Bexar, Blanco, Comal, DeWitt, Guadalupe, Hays, Karnes, Kendall, Medina and Uvalde counties are approved to use the Countywide Polling Place Program, which allows users to vote anywhere in their county during early voting and on Election Day.

If you do not live in one of those counties or prefer to vote in your vote center, you can check your poll location through your county or through the Secretary of State’s website.

What races are on the ballot?

The most talked about race is obviously the one that will decide who will be president and vice president for the next four years.

Texas recognizes four political parties -- the Democratic Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party and Republican Party.

Here are your choices on the November ballot:

  • Donald J. Trump/JD Vance (R)
  • Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (D)
  • Chase Oliver/Mike Ter Maat (L)
  • Jill Stein/Rudolph Ware (G)

Other candidates on the ballot include U.S. Senate, congressional and state legislative offices, State Board of Education, Texas Railroad Commission and judicial seats.

>> BALLOT: Bexar County sample ballot for November presidential election

Voters in Bexar County will also choose candidates for sheriff, county commissioner, constable and others. Also on the ballot are San Antonio charter amendments and municipal and school board elections.

If you are registered to vote in Bexar County, you can check out the sample ballot here.

Otherwise, you can check your county’s ballot here on the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

You can enter your address on the Texas Legislature’s website and get a list of your state and federal representatives.

What do I need to bring to the polling place?

Acceptable forms of ID include a Texas driver’s license, a Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS, a Texas personal identification card issued by DPS, a Texas handgun license issued by DPS, a U.S. military ID card with a photo, a U.S. citizenship certificate containing a photo, or a U.S. passport.

There are options if residents do not have one of the acceptable forms of ID and cannot reasonably obtain one.

They can fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at their place of voting and show one of the following supporting forms of ID:

  • Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and address, including the voter registration certificate
  • Copy of or original current utility bill
  • Copy of or original bank statement
  • Copy of or original government check
  • Copy of or original paycheck
  • Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document)

What can’t I bring to the polls?

Unless you’re a peace officer, Section 46.03(a) of the Texas Penal Code generally prohibits a person from bringing a firearm onto the premises of a polling place.

Voters are not allowed to use the following wireless communications devices within 100 feet of the voting stations:

  • Cellphones
  • Cameras
  • Tablet computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Sound recorders
  • Any device that may communicate wirelessly or be used to record sound or images

Voters cannot wear clothing or bring signs expressing a preference for or against any candidate, measure, or political party within 100 feet of the voting station.

Voters are allowed to bring in written materials to help them cast their ballots, so you can make notes about candidates beforehand and reference them as you vote as long as they’re not visible to other voters or used to campaign for a candidate.

How do I vote?

The type of system on which you vote depends on where you live. Here’s a brief summary regarding the different voting methods:

(The following information comes directly from the Secretary of State’s office.)

  • Hand-marked paper ballots are still used as the primary way of voting in a number of Texas counties. Voters mark their ballot by hand with an indelible marker (a marker that cannot be erased) or pen and place their finished ballot in a ballot box. Local election officials then count the votes by hand.
  • Ballot marking devices are electronic devices that allow the voters to make their selections electronically on the device, and print a ballot that contains those selections. The printed ballot is then placed into a ballot box for hand counting or into an optical scan system for automatic counting.
  • Optical scan voting systems enable voters to mark their choices either on pre-printed ballots by connecting “arrows” or filling in “bubbles” next to the candidates’ names, or on electronic ballot marking devices by making their selections electronically on the device and printing a ballot containing those selections from that device. The paper ballot is then inserted into an electronic ballot counter, which then counts the marked “bubbles” or “arrows” on each ballot and automatically computes the totals for each candidate and/or issue.
  • DREs (Direct Recording Electronic systems) enable voters to record their choices electronically directly into the machine. There are several types of DREs (some have a dial while others use a touch screen), but essentially they all enable voters to move back and forth between screens (ballot pages) to select the candidates and/or issues for whom they wish to vote. Once a voter has made his or her choices, the DRE provides a summary screen that presents those choices and gives the voter the ability to go back and make any changes before pressing the “Vote” or “Cast Ballot” button. One of the benefits of a DRE system is that it prevents “over-voting;” that is, it stops the voter from selecting two candidates or options in a race where only one is allowed. As well, a DRE gives the voter an opportunity to correct “under-voting,” or failing to select any candidate or option in a race.

Each voting location must offer at least one accessible voting system that enables the blind, elderly, physically disabled, and non-reading Texans to vote independently and in private.

Texas has certified voting systems from two different vendors: Election Systems & Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic.

Find more election coverage on the Vote 2024 page.


About the Author
Rebecca Salinas headshot

Rebecca Salinas is the Digital Executive Producer at KSAT 12 News. A San Antonio native, Rebecca is an award-winning journalist who joined KSAT in 2019.

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